Ranchi: The vaccination drive has entered its second phase and inoculation of health and frontline workers was being carried out seamlessly at more than 150 session sites in the state, but many beneficiaries still have apprehensions over the safety and efficacy of the Covid vaccines.
Health experts, though, continued to vouch for the safety of the vaccines and advised beneficiaries to get themselves inoculated as per their turn in order to develop herd immunity and defeat the pandemic.
As per data available with the health department, a total of 243 people have reported adverse event following immunisation (AEFI) in the state till date, with capital Ranchi recording the maximum of 167, followed by Ramgarh with 19 cases, Koderma 18 and Dhanbad 10. The other districts have reported such cases in single digits.
A majority of AEFIs in the state capital was reported from the state’s lone tertiary care centre Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (Rims), however, all of them were in the mild category.
“I can assure people that the vaccines are completely safe and every beneficiary should get themselves inoculated. I was inoculated on February 2 and had experienced headache and dizziness within the first 10 minutes after getting vaccinated. But those symptoms didn’t last long and I am perfectly fine,” said a 28-year-old post-graduate medical student of the pathology department of Rims.
Another beneficiary from Rims, a nursing student, who had reported an increase in her blood pressure levels following immunisation, said: “I am hypertensive and my blood pressure levels increased a bit post vaccination. However, I haven’t experienced any other complications. So I would like to assure others that the vaccine is safe and they should go for it.”
Beneficiaries from Dhanbad who reported AEFI included a 58-year-old sanitation worker and a 25-year-old sahiya and they, too, claimed that the vaccine was safe.
“I had experienced body aches for a couple of hours after the vaccination but that was all. I was asked to take proper medication and the next day I could report to work. It has been more than four days now and I am alright,” said a 25-year-old sahiya associated with PMCH Dhanbad.
Another beneficiary from PMCH, a 58-year-old sanitation worker, said: “I am going to retire in the next two years and nothing happened to me. So younger people who are doctors and nurses shouldn’t worry about the safety of the vaccine. I just experienced headache for around 30 minutes on the day of inoculation.”
The nodal officer for the vaccination drive in the state, Dr Ajit Prasad, said: “We have directed the districts to monitor each and every beneficiary during vaccination and they should be attended to if they experience any adverse reaction. As of now, none of the AEFIs reported in the state was serious in nature.”